52 Cookies - Chapter 5

I took a walk back in time with today's cookie. This is a cookie that I remember fondly from my childhood. My mother would make these for the church bazaar, without fail. I remember, very often, wishing she weren't giving the cookies to the church because I selfishly wanted more for myself. She would mix up the dough on Friday night, stick it in the fridge, and then Saturday morning she'd roll out the dough and deliver them fresh-from-the-oven to the ladies manning the bake sale table. They always sold immediately. Always. There are certain dishes that you just never bother to fix yourself because someone else in the family does it, so you don't need to. That was how it was with my Grandma Blue's homemade noodles and her butterscotch pie. And now she is gone and I wish so much that I could spend just one more afternoon in the kitchen with her to show me how she used to do it. Nowadays, my mother claims she doesn't know how to bake/cook. I just think it's because she's so worried about it being healthy and making things less fattening and that's why somethings don't "turn out." I don't know the last time my mom made these cookies, but I decided that if I want them, I will just make them myself. They are called "Opal's Yeast Cookies." I don't know the story behind my mother acquiring a copy of this recipe, but it must have come from Opal Longberry, a woman who lived in the rural community in which my parents and then my brothers and I grew up. I love this woman's name. Can't you picture a package of cookies with a label on it that says, "Opal Longberry's - Old Fashioned Cookies"? Opal had a sister and I remember them being referred to as "The Longberry Sisters." It reminds me of something from The Walton's. Remember the sisters that brewed moonshine?! So here is the recipe for Opal's Yeast Cookies. As a child, I always called them pinwheel cookies or cinnamon roll cookies. Eat them while they are warm if you can!

Here's what you'll need:
Dough -
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 envelope yeast
1/4 cup warm water
4 cups flour
1 cup warm milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Sugar Mixture -
1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Here's what you do:
Mix the yeast and the warm water and set it aside to do its thing. In a large bowl, cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender. Add 1/4 cup sugar, warm milk, salt, eggs and the yeast/water combo. Mix well. Cover and let rise in the refrigerator overnight. When you are ready to make your cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly flour your counter and divide the dough in half. Working with half the dough, roll it out to about 1/4 inch thickness in a rectangular shape. If you like, you can spread with just a smidge of softened butter and then sprinkle half of your sugar/cinnamon mixture over the top. Now, from the long side, begin to roll the dough up tightly, jellyroll-style. Slice the cookies with a sharp knife and lay them on the cookie sheet till it's full. They spread out a bit, so be sure to leave room. If your cinnamon-sugar mixture falls out of the cookies while transferring to the cookie sheet, just scoop it up and sprinkle it over the tops. Press down lightly on the tops of the cookies with either a spatula or bottom of a glass. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until you think they are finished. You don't want these to brown, however, this is not a good case for under-baking either like I tend to do with other cookies to achieve a soft and chewy texture. These being made from a yeast dough, you don't have to worry about that. I sure wish these cookies were more bother than they were. These were way too easy to make and my hips may be in big trouble!